METHODS
In the present research, the viability and apoptosis of myeloma cells were analyzed by colorimetric MTT
and Annexin-PI flow cytometric assays. QRT-PCR was implemented to evaluate the expression level of
miR-19a, its targets SOCS3 and STAT3, at the mRNA level.
RESULTS
Following treating transfected cells with bortezomib we found out that miR-19a was downregulated,
and the rate of apoptosis of myeloma cells after bortezomib treatment considerably increased. It indicated
that mRNA of SOCS3 increased and STAT3 decreased.
CONCLUSION
The research results indicate that oncomiR-19a as a biomarker may induce better responsiveness to
bortezomib in myeloma cell lines through its targets SOCS3, STAT3, and may provide new therapeutic
targets in the future for myeloma. The research results indicate that oncomiR-19a as a biomarker may
induce better responsiveness to bortezomib in myeloma cell lines through its targets SOCS3, STAT3 and
may provide new therapeutic targets in the future for myeloma.
Keywords: Antagomir-19a; bortezomib; multiple myeloma; SOCS3
The proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib (BTZ), is a
crucial and an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of
MM, especially relapsed & refractory MM.[
Chief among oncomiRs, miR-17-92 clusters that
are placed in chromosome 13q31.3, including miR-19a
are the very first oncomiRs that were discovered. It is
proved that any disturbance in the expression level of
miR-17-92 clusters results in the malignant progress of
MM.[
Furthermore, miR-19a can adjust the expression
of proteins that are essential for myeloma pathogenesis
including suppressors of cytokine signaling
(SOCSs).[9] It is reported that miR-19a targets
SOCS3, a potent regulator of the JAK-STAT pathway,
as is followed by a considerable reduction of SOCS3
mRNA together with enhanced activation of SOCS3
target, STAT3.[
Reagents
Bortezomib (PS-341) (Selleckchem.com Cat.
No.S1013) was dissolved in 0.2603 mL DMSO to prepare
a stock solution with a concentration of 50 mM
for storage at -20°C. LentimiRa-off-has-miR-19a-3p
vector (Applied Biological Materials (ABM) Inc. with
Cat. No. mh30299) with GFP promoter, miRNA insert,
and kanamycin resistance gene that was transformed
in DH5α E.coli strain and isolatedby Qiagen plus Midi
plasmid purification kit and stored at -20°C.
In Vitro Cell Culture and Drug Treatment
Human myeloma cell lines RPMI8226 and U266 were
cultured and 50 mM Stock solution of Bortezomib was
further diluted to working concentrations in RPMI1640
medium before use. To determine the concentration of
drug that inhibited cell proliferation by 50% (IC50), 5×10³ cells were seeded in 96well plate, then treated
with different concentration of working solutions of
BTZ based on the approximate concentration that was
noted in cell assay part of BTZ data-sheet in ranges of
0.5, 5, 50 ?M for U266 and 150, 450, 750, 1050 nM for
RPMI8226, mixed well in RPMI1640 media and 10%
FBS and finally incubated for 48 hours.
MTT Colorimetric Assay
Using a standard protocol, the inhibitory impact of
BTZ on cell growth was assessed by 3-(4, 5-Dimethylthiazol-
2-yl)-2, 5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide
(MTT) assay. Briefly, cells from 48-hour cultures were
pulsed with 10 ?L of 5 mg/mL MTT to each well for at
least 4 hours of 48-hour cultures, followed by 100 ?L
of isopropanol containing 0.04 N HCl, absorbance was
measured at 570 nm using a spectrophotometer and results
were expressed as the mean of three replicates as
a percentage of control (taken as 100%). The extent of
cytotoxicity was defined as the relative reduction of the
optical density (OD), which correlated to the number
of viable cells compare to cell control (100%). To decide
the optimum dosage of the drugs for further studies,
the cell viability was plotted in a graph and the IC
50 was calculated accordingly.
Cell Viability Analysis
The effect of transfection on cellular viability was
assessed by flow cytometry using propidium iodide
(PI). PI can only pass through disordered areas of the
dead membrane cells and intercalated with the DNA
of the nuclei, emitting red fluorescence light. It was
used with 1mg/mL concentration by dissolving PI
(Sigma, P 4170) in dH2O. PI solution was added in a
final concentration of 2µg/mL to 1×106 cells in suspension,
incubated at a dark place and after 5 minutes,
analyzed by flow cytometry using Attune NXT
flow cytometer.
Analysis of Apoptosis
The apoptosis of cell lines after transfection with Plenti-
III-miR-Off -has-miR-19a -3p vector, after treatment
with bortezomib and after treatment of transfected
cells with bortezomib compared with untreated cells
were analyzed with Annexin V/PI (eBioscience Cat.
No. 88-8005 from Thermo Fisher Scientific) by flow
cytometry using Attune NXT flow cytometer. Cells
were washed in PBS and then they were washed in 1X
bindings buffer once, after that we resuspended cells
in 1X bindings buffer at 1×106/mL, then we added 5
µL of FITC-conjugated Annexin V to 100 µL of the cell suspension, incubated for 10-15 minutes in a dark
place at room temperature, then they were washed with
binding buffer, resuspended in it afterward we added
5 µL of Propidium Iodide Staining Solution (Sigma, P
4170), analyzed by flow cytometry.
Prediction of SOCS3 as a Target of miR-19a
Target Scan (Version 5) and pic tar were used to confirm
the SOCS3 molecule as a target of miR-19a in its
3´ UTR. Target Scan predicted biological targets of
miRNA by searching for the presence of conserved 8
and 7 base sites that match its seed region.
Cell Transfection
Cells were grown in RPMI1640 medium containing no
antibiotics before transfection. U266 and RPMI8226
were transfected by final concentration 2?g of Plenti-
III-miR-Off-has-miR-19a -3p vector containing
GFP purchased from Applied Biological Materials
Inc. (ABM). Transfection of cells was performed using
UltraCruz® Transfection Reagent (SCBT, Santa
Cruz Biotechnology, Inc.). Briefly, before transfection,
we prepared a transfection reagent and vector
in Opti-MEM I reduced serum medium (Gibco) following
the manufacturer's protocol. After preparing
the transfection reagent and plasmid in OPTI-MEM
I medium and incubation at room temperature, plasmid
reagent was added to transfection reagent, vortex
vigorously incubates for 20 minutes. 6×10³ cells were
added to the Eppendorf tube and were poured above
mix dropwise to the cells, incubated in the incubator
for 2 hours, every half an hour flicked with a fingertip,
finally were transferred to 6-well plate and after 24-72
hours GFP expression was evaluated by Attune NXT
flow cytometer.
Q-RT-PCR Assessment of miR-19a Expression
Total RNA was isolated from un-transfected, transfected
and BTZ treated cells: RPMI8226 and U266 while
following the Trizol manufacturer's protocol (InvitrogenTM,
USA). 2000ng of RNA was reverse transcribed
using specific microRNA stem-loop primers from Qiagen
for miR-19a, to generate cDNA using Hyperscript
reverse transcriptase first-strand synthesis kit (Gene-
All Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Korea). The expression of
Snord47 was used as the internal control for miRNA
expression normalization. The quantitative real-time
PCR was performed with the SYBR® Premix Ex Taq?
miRNA RT-qPCR Detection Kit (Takara, Cat.No.
RR820Q) is using the Qiagen Rotor-Gene Q 5PLEX
HRM Real-Time PCR and primers with sequences matching with table
Quantitative RT-PCR Analysis for SOCS3, STAT3
Genes
Total RNA was isolated from un-transfected, transfected
and BTZ treated cells: RPMI8226 and U266 following
the Trizol manufacturer's protocol (InvitrogenTM,
USA). 2µg of total RNA was reverse transcribed into
cDNA using Hyperscript reverse transcriptase firststrand
synthesis kit with oligo-dT primers following
the manufacturer's instructions (GeneAll Biotechnology
Co., Ltd, Korea) for evaluation of SOCS3, STAT3
genes. The expression of β-Actin was used as an internal
control. The quantitative real-time PCR was performed
with the SYBR® Premix Ex Taq™ miRNA RT-qPCR Detection
Kit (Takara, Cat. No. RR820Q) using the Qiagen
Rotor-Gene Q 5PLEX HRM Real-Time PCR. PCR
program cycling parameters included 95° for 15s, 58°
for the 30s, 72° for 30s for 45 cycles. Data analysis was
performed by 2-ΔΔCT to calculate the fold change of
the above genes" relative expression compared to untreated
control.
Statistical Analysis
Data were presented as mean±standard deviation. The
statistical analysis was performed with the GraphPad Prism 8.4.0 software The mean values of two groups or
multiple groups were compared by one-way analysis of
variance (ANOVA). P<0.05 was considered statistically
significant. Flow cytometric assays were analyzed with
FlowJo version 7.6.1.
Downregulation of miR-19a Decreased Cell Viability
and Prevented the Proliferation of Myeloma Cell
Lines
We first evaluated the expression level of miR-19a in
non-transfected (control) myeloma cell lines (RPMI
8226 and U266). After the transfection of myeloma cell
lines with the LentimiRa-off-has-mir-19a-3p vector,
the efficiency of transfection was monitored by GFP
evaluation using both fluorescent microscopy (Fig.
The Expression Level of miR-19a in Myeloma Cell
Lines was Reduced Upon BTZ Treatment
The expression level of miR-19a was evaluated after
BTZ treatment by qRT-PCR analysis, and our data
showed that its expression level was compared with
non-treated cell lines, reduced after treatment. In the
meantime, this expression was also evaluated in cells
transfected by the LentimiRa-off-has-mir-19a-3p vector
and the data showed that miR-19a expression level
was highly reduced after BTZ treatment, compared to
non-treated and non-transfected controls (Fig.
Anti-miR-19a Increased Susceptibility to Bortezomib-
Induced Apoptosis
In order to investigate that antago-miR-19a affects
drug-induced apoptosis of myeloma cells, the percentage
of apoptotic cells by Annexin -V, PI through flow
cytometry after transfection of myeloma cell lines by
lentimiRa-off-has-mir-19a-3p and incubation with
bortezomib (BTZ, final concentration 5 ?M for U266
and 150 nM for RPMI8226) for 48 hours were analyzed.
Analysis of flow cytometry data showed that the
percentage of cells that underwent apoptosis increased
after transfection, compared with non-transfected cell lines and the negative control (Fig.
SOCS3 and STAT3 mRNA expression level upregulated and downregulated, respectively after transfection of myeloma cell lines with LentimiRa-off-has-mir- 19a-3p vector.
After recognizing SOCS3 as the target of miR-19a,
SOCS3 and its target STAT3 mRNA level in myeloma
cell lines after transfection with Lentini-off-has-mir-
19a-3p vector was evaluated. The data showed that
the mRNA expression level of SOCS3 increased, while
STAT3 mRNA expression level decreased, compared
with non-transfected cell lines as the negative control
(Fig.
The results are honorable & supplement the findings that microRNAs are differentially expressed in BTZ-resistant myeloma cells. So miR-19a could be proposed as a prognostic biomarker for responsiveness to BTZ in MM patients. To overcome the resistance and improve the level of responsiveness to BTZ, miR-19a targets such as SOCS3 and STAT3 could be tracked. We have faced some restrictions in our studies that must be adverted. They include the use of other MM cell lines and myeloma cells obtained from MM patients, and the evaluation of targets in protein level expression and downstream molecules, that could have helped us to generalize our results.
Peer-review: Externally peer-reviewed.